Included: “works” in the copyright sense, which (as copyright lawyers know) means: “works of authorship fixed in a tangible means of expression,” per the Copyright Act of 1976.
Not included: “art” in a broader or more general sense, which includes performance of various types. Performance is art, but it is rarely copyright-worthy.
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Musicians: Composers and arrangers born in Pittsburgh
- George Benson
- The Clarks
- Billy Eckstine
- Stephen Foster
- Errol Garner
- Girl Talk
- Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers
- Earl Hines
- Donnie Iris and the Cruisers
- Ahmad Jamal
- Wiz Khalifa
- Billy Porter
- Rusted Root
- Billy Strayhorn
- Stanley Turrentine
- Mary Lou Williams
Honorable Mention: Joe Negri (better known for performing and teaching than for composing or arranging, and for contributions to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood); The Vogues (better known for their performances); Waring’s Pennsylvanians (Fred Waring was from Tyrone, Pennsylvania)
Musicians: Composers and arrangers not born in Pittsburgh, who created significant works based on Pittsburgh experiences
Music: Tunes about Pittsburgh
- Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen, Homestead
- Woody Guthrie, Pittsburgh Town
- Ahmad Jamal, Pittsburgh (album)
- Wiz Khalifa, Black and Yellow
- Wiz Khalifa, Pittsburgh Sound
- Bruce Springsteen, A Good Man is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)
- Loudon Wainwright III, Ode to Pittsburgh
- Sammy Walker, A Cold Pittsburgh Morning
- John Philip Sousa, The Pride of Pittsburgh March
Writers: Novelists, playwrights, poets, screenwriters, historians, and journalists born in Pittsburgh
- Thomas Bell
- Rachel Carson
- Annie Dillard
- Jack Gilbert
- David McCullough
- Gertrude Stein
- Gerald Stern
- Lois Weber
- August Wilson
Writers: Novelists, playwrights, poets, historians, and journalists not born in Pittsburgh, who created significant works based on Pittsburgh experiences
Writing: Poetry, fiction, and drama about Pittsburgh
- Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2012)
- Jacob Bacharach, The Bend of the World (2014)
- Thomas Bell, Out of this Furnace (1941)
- Willa Cather, Paul’s Case, in The Troll Garden (1905)
- Annie Dillard, An American Childhood (1987)
- Jack Gilbert, Tear It Down and Tough Heaven: Poems of Pittsburgh
- Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988)
- Michael Chabon, Wonder Boys (1995)
- Ellen Litman, The Last Chicken in America (2008)
- Philipp Meyer, American Rust (2009)
- Stewart O’Nan, Everyday People (2002)
- Tom Sweterlitsch, Tomorrow and Tomorrow (2014)
- John Edgar Wideman, The Homewood Trilogy (Hiding Place (1981); Sent for You Yesterday (1981); and Damballah (1983))
- John Edgar Wideman, Brothers and Keepers (1984)
- August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle
Honorable mention: Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth; Stefan Lorant, Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City
Visual artists: Painters, sculptors, and photographers born in Pittsburgh
- John White Alexander
- Mary Cassatt
- LaToya Ruby Frazier
- Charles “Teenie” Harris
- Henry Ossawa Tanner
- Andy Warhol
Visual artists: Painters, sculptors, and photographers born in Pittsburgh
Visual art: Works of painting, sculpture, and photography that are about Pittsburgh
- John White Alexander, The Crowning of Labor (1907-08)
- Alexander Calder, “Pittsburgh” (1958)
- Industrial Arts Co-op, Carrie Deer (1997)
- Tom Mosser and Sarah Zeffiro, The Two Andys (2005)
- George Silk, “University of Pittsburgh Students Watch the 1960 World Series from the Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA” (1960)
- Everett Warner, “Winter Morning” (1939)
Movies about Pittsburgh (feature films)
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
- Adventureland (2009)
- Angels in the Outfield (1951)
- Concussion (2015)
- The Deer Hunter (1978)
- Dogma (1999)
- The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979)
- Fences (2016)
- Flashdance (1983)
- Jack Reacher (2012)
- Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Out of the Furnace (2013)
- Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
- Pittsburgh (1942)
- The Pittsburgh Kid (1941)
- Promised Land (2012)
- She’s Out of My League (2010)
- Striking Distance (1993) (included not for its quality but for the line, “Take Bigelow“)
- The Valley of Decision (1945)
Honorable mention, because they refer to Western Pennsylvania or have a powerful Western Pennsylvania vibe (in some cases they were shot in Pittsburgh) without being about Pittsburgh: All the Right Moves (1983); Groundhog Day (1993); The Quiet Man (1952); Silence of the Lambs (1991); Slap Shot (1977); Unstoppable (2010)
Television shows about Pittsburgh
Dance: choreographers born in Pittsburgh
Special mentions: Created in Pittsburgh … with copyrightable expression?